Mideast Book Fair Removes Non-Antisemitic Work

Adherence to those rules is the responsibility of each vendor, not the publisher or author, explained organizer spokesman Jabr Waqqi.

Ramallah, May 16 – Controversy erupted at a regional book fair in the Palestinian capital this week after visitors discovered for sale a work that contained no anti-Israel or anti-Jewish content, forcing organizers to remove the book from the shelves and reprimand the booth operator.

Thousands of publishers, distributors, educators, and other interested parties gathered in Ramallah for the biannual Palestinian Book Fair, which aims to help keep the struggling Palestinian publishing industry on the regional map and showcase the city’s and culture’s vibrancy despite having only a quasi-state hemmed in by Israel. Booth operators came from Dubai, Qatar, and other places in the Arab world to both display and take in recent or perpetually popular offerings, such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a longtime favorite in the region. However, within four hours of the fair opening its doors at the Ramallah Convention Center, more than two dozen visitors came to the concierge to file complaints that one publisher was offering for sale a book that contained no theme, images, or not-so-veiled accusations painting Israel or Jews as malicious, undesirable, corrupt, bloodthirsty, untrustworthy, or unclean. As a result, all copies of the book were confiscated and the seller was threatened with closure of his display.

The seller, whose name has been withheld pending an investigation, allegedly offered for sale copies of a photography journal published as a coffee table book. The 75-page work, titled Bridges Afar, focused on images of bridges around the world, including famous landmarks such as the London and Golden Gate Bridges, as well as out-of-the-way locations such as old railroad bridges in rural Pennsylvania and Bulgaria. None of the images or commentary, however, made even a single mention of Zionist perfidy, brutality, or oppression, even by omission or implication in clear violation of the convention’s rules.

Adherence to those rules is the responsibility of each vendor, not the publisher or author, explained organizer spokesman Jabr Waqqi. “We made clear to the vendor that it was up to him to vet all titles for adherence to the policies of this event,” he said. “Authors and publishers may produce whatever material they like, but that is not the business of this fair. We have specific, clear guidelines for what is acceptable, and in this case, the vendor apparently failed to take the proper steps to ensure compliance.”

The US Consulate General in Jerusalem was scheduled to operate a booth at the fair, according to organizers, but pulled out at the last minute when representatives were informed that its participation in the hate-fest was not going to be kept secret.